SERVING MAPLETON AND MINTO
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 52 ISSUE 23
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638-3328
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2019
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Council issues water, wastewater RFPs By Aryn Strickland
Alpaca pals - Members of the Downey family enjoyed a close encounter with some alpacas at the Poot Corners Alpacas booth at the Harriston and District Horticultural Society’s 18th annual Garden Festival at the Harriston arena grounds on June 1. Pat Downey holds his daughter Zoe up for a closer look while his son, Kane, offers some hay. Additional photos on page 4. Photo by Patrick Raftis
MAPLETON - Council passed a resolution on May 28 issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) to companies to invest in, and propose solutions for, the township’s water and wastewater systems. Council approved issuing RFPs to six groups of companies all, of which were deemed qualified by council through the request for qualifications (RFQ) process. The new approach to financing and updating the water and wastewater systems was adopted by council in December when staff engaged with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP to explore alternative financing and infrastructure renewal for the systems. Then, in April, the township announced it was inviting companies with applica-
ble experience to apply to an RFQ and invest in the township’s infrastructure. The six companies to receive an RFP from the township are: - Helios Group, made up of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., Pomerleau, Helios Group, JL Richards, GSS Engineering; - Maple Reinders W/WW Utility, made up of Wood Canada Limited, Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., ASI Water (a division of ASI Group Ltd.) and Stonebridge Financial Corporation; - Maple Water Resource Partners, comprised of EPCOR Water (East) Inc., AECON, Ontario Clean Water Agency and Stantec, Ontario Utility Consortium comprised of Veolia Water Canada, Inc, Graham, CIMA+, Alectra Inc. and Enbridge;
- Peterborough Group, comprised of PUG (Peterborough) Services Corp., Peterborough Utilities Inc. and Peterborough Utilities Group; and - PUC Sault St. Marie Group, made up of Axium Infrastructure Canada II LP, PUC Services Inc. (Sault St. Marie) and Ontario Energy Holdings LLC. ‘Moving ahead’ “We are moving ahead with water and wastewater in this community and I thank council and staff for all of the hard work, as well as our consultants for getting us to this point,” said Mayor Gregg Davidson. “This is a very exciting time for the township of Mapleton as we move forward and we are looking at implementing something that has been worked on for 20 years. “It’s fantastic.”
Minto seeks Connecting Link cash for project in Harriston By Patrick Raftis MINTO – Town council has authorized staff to apply for provincial Connecting Link funding to rebuild Highway 89 (Arthur Street East) from Elora Street to the edge of Harriston. On May 21, roads and drainage manager Mike
McIsaac advised council the provincial transportation ministry recently announced it would accept applications for Connecting Link funding for new projects with a deadline of May 31. Up to 90 per cent of total eligible project costs may be funded and the maximum request is $3 million per proj-
ect. The municipality must contribute 10%, which cannot come from any other provincial funding source. McIsaac noted the last construction work on the Highway 89 (Arthur Street East) section was done in 1990, “so that surface is nearly 30 years old.” “It’s definitely a rough
piece of road,” commented councillor Judy Dirksen. Other potential Connecting Link projects had been worked on more recently, McIsaac noted, including the northwestern corner of Highway 9 in Harriston (in front of Tim Hortons) and the west end of Arthur Street.
McIsaac recommended the town not miss out on the chance for Connecting Link funding. “We have been successful with this application over the years and we don’t know how much longer it’s going to be available,” he said. Mayor George Bridge said, “We’ve lost Connecting
Link once before in a different situation. With all the cuts that are going on, I’m surprised it is still here, but let’s take advantage if we can because there’s not many more programs out there.” Councillor Jean Anderson asked staff how the town would fund its portion of the SEE TOWN » 2
George Bridge re-elected to FCM board of directors leaders from across the country and tackling key issues we’re all facing.’’ The FCM board of directors is GEORGE comprised BRIDGE of elected municipal officials and affiliate members from all regions and various-sized communities throughout Canada. It forms a broad base of support and carries the municipal message to the Government of Canada. Bridge has served Minto and Wellington County since 2010 and has served on the FCM Board of Directors since 2016.
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Tree nursery visit - Maryborough Public School students visited the tree nursery in Damascus last week and helped out by planting and transplanting trees. “We are so thankful that this program is still in place and trees are still being planted in our county,” school officials state. “The way the Green Legacy works is such an excellent model for other counties to follow.” LEFT: Courtney Burnett transplants little saplings. RIGHT: Sarah Schuetz works to transplant the larger trees. Additional photo on page 5. Submitted photos
WEEKLY WAG
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QUEBEC CITY Wellington County councillor and Town of Minto Mayor George Bridge was re-elected to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) board of directors for the 2019-2020 term at the annual FCM Conference. Bridge is one of 15 members representing the Ontario Caucus. ‘‘I am honoured to be reelected to the FCM National Board of Directors by my Ontario peers,’’ said Bridge in a press release issued by the county on June 2. ‘‘As the county’s representative, I am proud to be an advocate for Ontario and Wellington County. “I look forward to working with other municipal
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